Whatever happened to the human race?

What defines humanity? Is it our biology or our behavior? One of my favorite scenes from the original Planet of the Ape movie is where Taylor, Charleston Heston, asks Dr. Zira if he can kiss her as she responds; ‘You’re so damn ugly!’. Sadly, over the millennials of time man continues to be his own worst enemy and show his true ugliness. I echo the words of Dr. Martin Luther King that our own Declaration of Independence declares all men are created equal! We ought to judge a man not by the color of his skin but according to the content of his character.

So, what has happened to the Human Race? Why do we continue to be polarized around skin color, nationality, religious beliefs, wealth or our favorite football team? What would cause someone to be a suicide bomber, drive their vehicle purposely into a large crowd or paint degrading messages on buildings or a neighbor’s car? The atrocities that you’re forced to see between the World Wars, Vietnam War, 9/11 using Jet Planes to attack, a White young man purposely walks into an African American Church and systematically kills nine people forces all of us to cry out, WHY?  Sadly, the list of atrocities continues till today.

Yet, I see hope as I listened to the Father of Heather Heyer who was (allegedly) killed by this Neo-Nazi man with his car. He echoed the need to come together and practice forgiveness and love. Much as the group from the Methodist Church in Charlotte I’m sure continues to grieve the loss of the 9 that were murdered during a prayer meeting. Yet, the voices I heard during this tragedy was one of working together, showing mercy and forgiveness.

I will be the first to admit if it had been my daughter run down or a son killed by a police officer my true heart would be revealed. I too see the need to identify who is causing the race wars, hate crimes, and now domestic terrorism. The twitter battle that has erupted over the President’s unwillingness to identify the groups that recently turned Charlottesville into almost a civil war is just a reflection of the real issue which is our own selfishness and brokenness. This is reflected in our own inability to recognize the problem is me, myself and I.

I know that it is naive to believe that kind words and forgiveness alone will change our culture. Yes, at times we are required to use our local authorities, national guard and now as we face North Korea even our Armed Forces. Yet, the goal in all of this is to pursue liberty and Justice for all. The difficulty is that many truly believe that they are the ‘Super Race’ that is destined to define all of humanity. This is why it becomes so necessary to see that there aren’t many races in the world but ONE. I know that the various groups that have # names will react to this but the ongoing evil we have witnessed calls everyone to come together, be united and shout out that we are One Human Race.

After watching the last Planet of the Ape Movie, ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’, my heart is torn in that mankind continues too often to reflect hatred and a desire to put down different people groups. The end result according to the original Planet of the Ape movie is the ultimate destruction of mankind. How is it possible that little kids are able to make friends of all different backgrounds regardless of skin color or economic status?

I can remember as a teen reading a book, ‘Whatever Happened to the Human Race’, by Francis Schaeffer. I was given this book by a group of new friends that had introduced me to the Christian Faith and wanted me to clearly understand that God loved me not because I was good and deserved it. The reality is that I saw my own brokenness and mess in my life and saw God caring enough to seek a solution to my problem. The solution was my acknowledgement of my sin, breaking God’s laws, rebelling against him and thinking I was better than everyone else and seeing that Jesus is the only one that was able to help me have a restored relationship with God. The ultimate life changing gift was based upon mercy and grace through Jesus’ willingness to take the punishment/judgement for my rebellion against God.

The picture of the mural of Jesus in the Hood carrying a gang member that has been shot reminds me that I too am no different. I need Jesus’ help to have the better life where I can rise above the craziness in today’s society and see the beauty and significance of the Human Race.